


Don't Let Them See You Cry

by AshesStarsAndRedStringsOfFate



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Round 1 [1]
Category: Persona 5, Super Smash Brothers
Genre: Angst, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Crying, Do not post to another site, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:00:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24872689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshesStarsAndRedStringsOfFate/pseuds/AshesStarsAndRedStringsOfFate
Summary: Ren would then put back on the mask of Joker, place a smirk upon his lips, and leave to face the world, with but a single mantra repeating in his head:Whatever you do, don’t let them see you cry.Written for my Bad Things Happen Bingo Card!
Relationships: Amamiya Ren & Arsene (Persona Series), Arsene & Persona 5 Protagonist
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Round 1 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1799743
Comments: 4
Kudos: 75





	Don't Let Them See You Cry

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my attempts to actually write fic again! I'm working hard on my Big Bang pieces for TSS, but I wanted to take a bit of a break and do a warm up with another fandom, and figured that I should start getting things out of the way on by Bad Things Happen Bingo card. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this one!

Smash Mansion was peaceful. Its occupants were out for the day, either enjoying the brilliant summer sun or partaking in matches. As such, it was the perfect building for any who needed to be alone for whatever reason. This is where Amamiya Ren, better known as Joker, found himself on this day, walking briskly through the empty halls towards his room, lower lip clenched between his teeth and hands curled tightly into fists in his pockets, eyes stinging relentlessly.  _ Just a bit longer _ , he told himself.  _ Just a bit more and I’ll be safe _ . No one disturbed him on his way, as there was no one  _ to  _ disturb him, and after what felt like an eternity, he found himself at his room. With shaking hands, he fished his keycard out of his pockets (so used to holding Devil Fruits and Beads and Relax Gels, but none of those were there anymore because he wasn’t really a Phantom Thief now-  _ don’t think about it, just get inside, get to safety- _ ) and opened his door, locking it behind him before making for the bed, finally letting the tears he’d been holding back flow from his eyes as he fell, sobbing, onto his bed. He curled into a ball, facing the door, instinctively bracing for an attack that could come at any moment. 

**_Mon petit chou? What seems to be the matter?_ ** Arsène’s voice echoed in Ren’s head, full of nothing but concern and care. 

“It’s nothing, Arsène. Just give me a minute,” Ren managed to get out, voice hiccuping as he curled further in on himself. 

**_It is clearly something, mon chéri,_ ** Arsène shot back. Ren could practically feel his judgemental eyebrow raise.  **_Tell me._ **

“I’m fine,” Ren insisted, swiping at his masked eyes with the heels of his hands. “I just need a minute.” Arsène fell silent at that, clearly understanding that pushing the issue would get him nowhere, and Ren let the silence swallow him whole, the tears staining his cheeks in warm, salty tracks. He sobbed into the silence, trying to disappear into his coat, into the safety and security of one of the only familiar things he had left around him. Arsène hummed French lullabies in his head in an attempt to soothe him, which only made Ren sob harder at the reminder that he only had one Persona left in this strange world. 

Eventually, the tears dried up, and Ren uncurled from his ball, standing on legs as shaky as a newborn deer’s to inspect his appearance in the mirror. He winced at the messier than usual curls, the obvious tear tracks on his face, the blatant shiny redness of his eyes. 

**_You look terrible,_ ** Arsène told him, voice flat. 

“Way to make a guy feel better about himself,” Ren muttered, sarcasm dripping from his words with no real heat to accompany them. He swiped at his eyes one last time with his hands, knowing that it would do nothing, but it made him feel better. 

**_I believe you have a match in an hour, mon chéri._ ** You should clean up is what he meant, and Ren knew he was right, but wasn’t sure how to muster up the energy to do just that.  **_Why not call in sick? I’m sure they would understand._ **

“Then they’d be worried, and I don’t want to bother any of them,” Ren muttered, forcing himself to straighten up and stride over to his closet. “I think I have a spare uniform in here somewhere…” 

**_Mon petit lapin, you cannot hide from your problems forever,_ ** Arsène warned, and Ren had to bite his lip as he was reminded of Sojiro for just a moment. That same fatherly concern, that same warmth coming from someone who cared… it was a bit too much for Ren at the moment. 

“Who’s hiding? Certainly not me,” is all Ren said, although both he and Arsène knew that it was a lie, an awful attempt to cover up wounds that had accumulated with no one to soothe and bandage them. He felt more than heard Arsène’s sigh, but the thief ultimately let it go, instead falling quiet as Ren removed his outfit, cleaned his face of salt, and replaced his uniform piece by piece until he almost looked normal. His hair was far more of a mess than usual, but Ren hoped that no one would notice. His eyes were also still red, but Ren sincerely hoped that no one would be able to get close enough to notice. With a final pause to straighten his coat, Ren turned and walked towards the door, ready to head out for his match and prove to something that he was okay and could function. On his way out, a photograph caught his eyes, and he turned to see a group shot, taken shortly after the completion of Okumura’s palace, he and his friends all smiling as they gathered close for the selfie Ann was taking. He swallowed back more tears and turned away, throwing back his shoulders and shaking his head. 

“Get a grip, Ren,” he muttered to himself. “Don’t let them see you cry over something as stupid as loneliness.” With that, he put on his final mask, that of the cocky, confident Joker, and walked out to face the world, leaving his issues to fester alone in his bedroom, away from the prying eyes of anyone but himself and Arsène. 

Later, much later, as he nursed a delicate cheekbone bruised by a ferocious punch, as he cursed at a twisted ankle caused by a movement just a second too slow, as he massaged his dominant hand in an attempt to soothe the cramped muscles, he would let the tears fall again as the loneliness consumed him. His Persona, the one connection he had to his world here, would emerge and curl around him, would whisper sweet nothings into his ear in a language he half understood, would take his sore hands within his own claws and attempt to make him relax. Ren would let the tears fall again, in the safety of his own room, in the hands of the one who knew him best, and would let all of his anxieties and sorrow spill from his lips to shatter the silence of the room. Arsène would simply listen and take all of these words, and, when Ren finally surrendered to the pull of sleep, too tired from the emotions flowing out of him to stay awake, Arsène would tuck those words deep into his heart and burn them there, determined to help the boy who slumbered under his hands. He would stroke a hand through those messy black curls, knowing it would never be the same as a warm hand of sunshine but hoping it would provide just a bit of comfort to his Trickster. He would stay and guard Ren’s sleeping form, and when Ren roused the next morning, still sore, he would show his care through pet names and small distractions. Ren would take these attempts to heart and smile, even if only for a moment, before reality came back to him. Ren would then put back on the mask of Joker, place a smirk upon his lips, and leave to face the world, with but a single mantra repeating in his head: 

_ Whatever you do, don’t let them see you cry.  _

**Author's Note:**

> I already have all of my prompts planned out, but if you want to see my full card, head over to my Tumblr (magicallygrimmwiccan)
> 
> I hope you all liked that! Please feel free to leave me a comment (I'm still new to writing for P5, so any feedback would be appreciated). I'll see you guys soon! 
> 
> ~Logan


End file.
